A 14-year-old boy and his mother have sued Snapchat for exposing the young lad to what they consider to be inappropriate material.

The suit says that Snapchat Discover—where publishers like People, ESPN, and IGN post their Stories—exposes minors to sexually explicit content. Before you roll your eyes, that's not entirely untrue. Snapchat is not allowing publishers to submit hardcore porn to their Discover feeds, but some content can get a little racy, depending on your audience.

"Specifically, through Snapchat Discover, Snapchat is currently engaged in aninsidious pattern and practice of intentionally exposing minors to harmful, offensive, prurient, and sexually offensive content, without warning minors or their parents that they would be exposed to such explicit content," the lawsuit reads, according to The Wrap.

Among the offending articles are "10 things he thinks when he can't make you orgasm" from Cosmo, as well as "I got high, blown, and robbed when I was a pizza delivery guy" and "Everything you wanted to know about penis tattoos," both from Vice.

According to the lawsuit, the boy was exposed to Discover content that included images from Disney movies discussed in a sexual context, as well as graphic depictions of sexual content.

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"John brought what he observed to the attention of his mother. John's mother was shocked and horrified to learn that such explicit content was actually being made available by Snapchat without warning, filters, or parental control," the lawsuit reads.

The lawsuit is seeking class-actions status, compensatory and punitive damages, and demanding that Snapchat be forced to "engage in a corrective advertising campaign."

In a statement provided to CNET, Snapchat said "We haven't been served with a complaint in this lawsuit, but we are sorry if people were offended. Our Discover partners have editorial independence, which is something that we support."

About the Author

David Murphy got his first real taste of technology journalism when he arrived at PC Magazine as an intern in 2005. A three-month gig turned to six months, six months turned to occasional freelance assignments, and he later rejoined his tech-loving, mostly New York-based friends as one of PCMag.com's news contributors.
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